Standard prefabricated cabinet units are commonly mounted on walls in laboratories, hospitals, schools, commercial and institutional kitchens, and the like, using a cabinet rail system comprising a wall rail and one or more cabinet rails. The wall rail is typically a continuous extrusion having a cross-sectional configuration which includes a planar back portion and an upwardly-turned hook portion. The wall rail generally includes a plurality of fastener openings which are uniformly spaced apart along the length of the wall rail to facilitate mounting of the wall rail to a wall. The cabinet rails may be made by cutting an extruded rail to a desired length. The cabinet rail has a cross-sectional configuration which includes a planar back portion and a downwardly-turned hook portion, and generally includes a plurality of fastener openings for securing the cabinet rail to the back side of a prefabricated cabinet unit. A single cabinet rail having a length which corresponds to at least a substantial portion of the width of a cabinet unit may be mounted to the back side of the cabinet unit, or, alternatively, two or more cabinet rails of shorter length can be mounted to the back side of the cabinet unit in spaced apart relationship. In either case, the wall rail is secured to a wall, such as with screws, with the planar back portion of the wall rail abuttingly engaging a planar surface of a wall on which the cabinet units are to be suspended, and with the hook portion of the wall rail turned upwardly. The cabinet rail(s) is (are) secured to the back side of the cabinet unit, such as with screws, with the planar back portion of the cabinet rail abuttingly engaging a planar surface of the back side of the cabinet unit, and with the hook portion of the cabinet rail turned downwardly. The upwardly projecting hook portion on the wall rail defines a channel or groove in which the downwardly projecting hook portion on the cabinet rail may be received. A cabinet unit can be quickly and easily suspended from a wall by positioning the cabinet unit with the downwardly projecting hook portion(s) of the cabinet rail adjacent to and slightly above the channel defined by the upwardly projecting hook portion of the wall rail, and then repositioning cabinet unit slightly downwardly and toward the wall to insert the downwardly projecting hook portion of the cabinet rail into the channel defined by the upwardly projecting hook portion of the wall rail. Such cabinet rail systems provide a relatively simple hook-on installation method which is economical and which provides easy replacement and repositioning of cabinet units as desired.
The cabinet rail systems which have been commercially available typically include rails with sharp corners and edges defined by intersecting planar or flat surfaces. Accordingly, cabinet units must be precisely manipulated during installation in order to properly engage the cabinet rail with the wall rail to suspend a cabinet unit. Such precise manipulation can be difficult, especially when larger and/or heavier cabinet units are being installed, and may, therefore, require additional labor. For example, it may be necessary to have one worker lift a cabinet unit to an approximate installation position, while another worker precisely guides the cabinet unit into the installed position.
Another disadvantage with the sharp corners and edges of currently available cabinet rail systems is that the sharp corners and edges can cause damage to walls or cabinet units through inadvertant contact during lifting and manipulation of the cabinet units, such as at the time of installation.
A further disadvantage with currently available cabinet rail systems is that the wall rail must be installed in an upright position, i.e., with the hook-like projection projecting upwardly. As a result, the currently available wall rails can be inadvertently secured to a wall in an improper upside-down position, such as by an inattentive worker or a worker who is unfamiliar with the cabinet rail system. In such case, the wall rail must be removed and installed in the proper upright position to facilitate hook-on installation of the cabinet units.